Dorie Greenspan's delightful goat cheese puffs from "Around My French Table" (and how I will use almost any excuse to justify another cookbook purchase)

One could probably devote an entire blog just to Dorie Greenspan's recipes.  During a recent Amazon order, I justified purchasing her book "Around My French Table" because I "had to" spend a few dollars more to get free shipping.  Never mind that by the time I purchase another item, it's much more than shipping would have been in the first place-- however, it was the perfect excuse I was waiting for to buy this gem of a book.  Although I'm trying to save money these days, I think books like this are an investment.  This is a book with pages that will fill my belly  and the bellies of those I love for years to come, pages that will weather with use over many meals, holidays, potlucks and celebrations.  Therefore, if I calculate the cost of the book measured by feasts over time, I'm practically stealing it from Amazon.  The book arrived on Friday and I didn't waste any time getting to work in the kitchen.  Some friends were gathering to catch up and have a "girl's night in" and the occasion seemed perfect for DG's goat-cheese mini puffs recipe.  

For this recipe, you start out by creating cream puff dough, also known as pâte à choux.  As Greenspan explains in her book, this dough is rather magical in its transformation.  First you cook the ingredient's of the dough on the stove, then you stir vigorously, then the dough is later baked into expanding "puffs" on a cookie sheet. 

Gratuitous ingredients close-up shot

                                                           Butter, water, milk, and salt 
                                             slowly turn to magic dough

It's almost time to add the flour...

Flour is added and the dough comes together...just remember to stir it like you mean it!

Now it's time to add the eggs to the dough...and of course I had to include a token shot of DG's beautiful book.  Don't worry, I didn't leave it on the table while mixing-- lest the pages get splashed with egg!  

   

And now for the filling: a mixture of herbed goat cheese, cream cheese, cream, salt & pepper.

  

The goat cheese mixture is spooned into a piping bag and into the "puffs" it goes-- into a hopefully inconspicuous hole in the puff's side!  DG says you can also cut the tops off of the puffs to fill them, but this piping bag part is perhaps the most fun of all-- it's like performing surgery on a baked good.

Et voila!  Goat cheese puffs!

This recipe is one that I'm planning to keep in my back pocket for many a-gathering.  My compliments to Dorie Greenspan for yet another lovely recipe. 

Friendship through the lens of a pear tart, kindred spirits, and my first of many Dorie Greenspan recipes

One of the very joyful parts of having good friends is that they encourage your passions.  Such was the case when my friend gave me the gift of Dorie Greenspan's "Baking From My Home to Yours" cookbook.  Dorie herself feels like she could be a friend because we are kindred spirits when it comes to our love for baking, cooking, Paris, and French food culture.  Her book "Paris Sweets", which explores the city's best pastry shops, is definitely in the spirit of The Great American Bakery Hunt.  Ever since discovering it I have had a bit of heartache over the fact that I did not have it as a resource years ago during any of my Paris trips.  Luckily, now I own three of her books ("Baking with Julia" being the 3rd) and I'm sure all of her writing will eventually find its way to my shelves. 


With my love of food, I've become a bit of a cookbook addict.  When I received "Baking From My Home to Yours," it sat sadly on my shelf for awhile because I received it during an incredibly busy time at work.  Since returning to a more normal schedule, I have recently taken advantage of a reunion with my tiny but well-loved studio apartment kitchen.  A potluck invitation was all it took to allow Dorie G's recipe to finally reach its destiny at my table. 

After searching around its pages, I chose the French pear tart.  I believe that creating a simple fruit tart is an art.  Even with such basic ingredients, fruit tarts have an elegance that  transforms dessert into more than sweet tooth satisfaction and adds to the feeling that the last course is indeed a special conclusion. 


This tart was perfect for preparing most steps ahead of time since the recipe prompts you to partially bake the pậte sablée dough in the tart pan and prepare the almond cream and fruit topping before the final hour of baking.  It was the perfect situation for carefully transporting the tart across a few west LA neighborhoods before its final stage of transformation, though beware this might be a disaster during peak traffic times.

Before being placed atop the tart, the pears are poached in a syrup of lemon juice, water, and sugar , then brought to room temperature

Blanched almonds are prepared for the almond cream that will form a delicious foundation under the pears 

Once I arrived at the potluck, we put the tart into the oven to bake for the remaining hour as we enjoyed our dinner.  While not necessary, I think this created a nice effect of additional anticipation as the scent of the tart wafted through my friend's house during the savory portion of our feast.


While I have not yet made every dessert in existence, I am going to state right now that fruit tarts will always be among my favorite treats to share at gatherings.   A special sidenote of thanks goes out to my lovely friend who gifted me Dorie's cookbook.  There's a pear tart waiting for you with your name on it the next time you're in California.